Betrayal and Trust
by Sonrisa895
Summary: Minerva marries the Minister of Magic, they split and... ends up with Albus.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! I need help knowing if I should continue this story.

I got the plot from muriel2532 on the plot bunny Betrayal and Trust section. And I think that Tabbygirl is writing one about this plot bunny too. So there are two different ways to go with the same story. So check hers out too when she posts it.

It does turn out to be ADMM just hang in there. It will be there in the end.

Rating: PG-13 maybe?

Chapter one:

_Flash Back:_

_Minerva was sitting in the changing room for the bridal party. She looked in the mirror and saw that the person staring back at her was neither nervous nor was she scared. She wondered what the future held for her and her husband to be. As she started to look at her hair and wonder if it was too late to change it. As she took of her veil there was a knock on the door._

"_Who is it?" Minerva asked skeptically. _

"_It's your mother. I have to talk to you about this." Minerva sighed and let her mother in. Minerva's mom brought in Alyssa who happened to be Minerva's best friend and maid of honor. "Minerva, we want to make sure that this is what you want to do." They both looked concerned and worried. _

"_Min this is a big step in a relationship, things are going to change dramatically." Alyssa moved closer to her and started to fiddle with the bracelet. "When Fredrick and I got married things were never the same. We thought that love was enough, and we could make it through anything, but we couldn't. Our differences were to… well different."_

_Minerva looked into the mirror for while, then turned to them, "This is what I want to do. I love Bryce with all my heart, and I am ready to become his wife."_

"_We know that you love him, you wouldn't be here if you didn't, but do you love him enough?" Athena looked stressed, the wedding would be started in a few moments, and they had to convince her that this wasn't the right decision to make, or she would be stuck with him forever. _

"_I love him, and we are ready to start a family. Now, if you don't mind I will be walking down the aisle in less then ten minutes, I will see you up there." She opened the door for them, and they both walked out. _

_Minerva sat down on a chair that was placed in front of a mirror and stared at herself. She couldn't see what the future Bryce and herself would have, but she was sure that there was a future. And then the piano began to play, she made her way down the aisle. _

Present:

Minerva stared at the full bottle of gin that was sitting in front of her. Her mind were full of questions: Would it be a mistake to drink it all? Why did I marry Bryce in the first place? Why am I still with him?

Minerva sat and remembered the happy times when they had just been dating, and when they had just gotten engaged.

_Flash Back:_

"_Minerva! It's so good to see you again. How does it feel to be engaged to the new Minister of Magic?" Amelia sat down. _

"_It feels fine. I don't like the spot light being on me, but I guess I should have seen that coming considering his title and all." As Minerva said this Bryce came over. He was tall, had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was in dress robes that reached the floor. _

"_Excuse me ladies, but I was wondering," He offered Minerva his hand, "If I could have this dance. After all, it is our song." Minerva tried to hide a smile that crept up onto her face. _

"_Well, I suppose since, after all, it is our song." She took his hand and excused herself from Amelia's company. _

_He led her out onto the floor and brought her around so she was far away from him, but still holding her hand, then he pulled her close to him and begun to hum with to the soft slow music. "Are you excited?" He whispered into her ear._

_She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Excited for what?"_

"_For the wedding darling. We are getting married in less then three months."_

"_Oh, well, yes then I suppose." There was a moment of silence and then she began to speak again. "I guess it just doesn't feel real yet. It doesn't feel like we are going to be married."_

_Bryce got a grin on his face, "Well… I know a way that we can make it feel like we are getting married." Minerva playfully smacked him. "Well, I was just trying to help you feel like we are going to get married. Don't be mad at me if you don't like my ideas." _

Present:

Minerva could hear the music as she remembered the melody and started to sway with the beat the she saw her and Bryce taking in her mind. She was brought back to reality when the door opened and was shut again. The bottle was still sitting in front of her, waiting for her to drink it. She took a glass down from the rack. Deciding to poor some into a glass.

The door opened again and this time Alyssa walking. "Min, are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?" Minerva stared at the glass that held the clear intoxicating liquid. She spoke as if talking to the liquid.

"No." She sat a swirled the glass and watched the liquid go around the edges, but never spilling. He mind was brought to another memory, the memory that Alyssa wanted to talk about. One that took place only hours ago.

_Flash Back:_

_Minerva got home finding the house dark and quiet. She threw her purse on the table and made her way to the bed room. "Bryce?" She saw that candles had been lit. She could smell them from all the way down the hall. She could hear the shower being turned on and she got a smile on her face. It had been a while since he had made any acknowledgment that he had a sexual attraction to her. She opened the door to the bed room that led to their private bathroom. _

_The bed was a mess, but she didn't pay any attention to it at the time. She reached the bath room door and turned the knob. When the door opened a girl screamed. "What the hell?" _

_Minerva had walked into a bathroom and was staring at her husband and a long legged blonde. She was stunned. She backed out of the bath room and started to gather a few of her things. The shower went off and Bryce and the women came out. Minerva looked up with tears in her eyes. It was then that she recognized who the long legged blonde had been, it was Amelia. _

_Minerva's heart was racing. She didn't know if she should yell at them, or just evaporate into thin air. It was then that she noticed the bed. "So, this is where you two have been screwing." There was silence then she began to speak again, in a calm but pained voice. "In our bed, where we sleep, and in the shower that I bathe in." Minerva fell silent, then deciding she didn't want to be in a room where her husband and his mistress were naked, she disappeared with a pop. _


	2. Chapter 2

Minerva woke up the next morning on the couch, the light shining in on her face, and the table before her. The gin still sat on the table, taunting her. It would be so easy to drink away her pain. An endless bottle of gin, that would make her forget it all. To the left of the couch was a chair, and in the chair was Alyssa. She smiled dimly. "How are you feeling?"

Minerva rubbed her eyes, then sat up and replied, "Fine." Alyssa sat and stared at Minerva waiting for her to make any kind of sign that she wanted to talk about Bryce.

"Minerva, what are you going to do about this? I know that this probably isn't the time to ask you, but you are going to have to talk to him about it soon."

"I was planning on going to the house and getting my things later today. He has a Ministry thing that he has to attend at noon until three. So I was thinking that I would go then. Maybe after that I would look at apartments, find a job. I don't really know."

Alyssa shook her head, "No, no Min you can stay here. After all it is just me, and this place is too big for just one person. Besides, it will take a while to find a job, how are you going to pay rent right away?"

"I don't know Alyssa. All I know is that I can't go back to the house with him there. I can't, and I won't. There are too many memories in that house. I don't even know if I will be able to go there when he isn't there."

"I will go with you." Alyssa moved over to the couch and put her arm around Minerva who started to get a few tears in her eyes. After a few minute Minerva started to speak.

"Seven year," The tears started to fall down her face, "seven years wasted." She posed. "I wonder how long they have been doing it. He stopped kissing me around five and a half years, maybe then." Alyssa knew that Minerva was talking more to herself then she was to her, but that didn't stop her from answering back.

"Maybe you could ask him. You are going to have to talk to him about what you are going to tell the tabloids."

"Yeah, I guess." Minerva reached and picked up the glass of gin that she poured the night before. She hadn't drank from it yet. Even last night she just held onto it and swirled it. She had self control. Just the thought of being able to drink it was like getting drunk to her right now.

The pain that she was feeling was a natural and cruel high. A feeling no human or witch should ever have to feel. The picture of them in the shower, even though she had only seen it for a split second, was enough to scare her and keep it in her mind forever. Her wet body pressed up against the wall, his body covering it. His hands, the hands that used to touch her.

Minerva shook her head. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon, I didn't want to wake you for breakfast, so I was thinking we could go out if you were feeling up to it." Minerva looked at the gin in her hand a swirled it around. It seemed to hypnotize her.

"Sure, lets go out for lunch. Then you can come with me to get my stuff from the house." Alyssa nodded and got up.

"Ok, I am going to take a shower upstairs, did you want to take one down here?"

"Sure." Minerva was still twirling the liquid. It reached the brim a few times looking like it was going to spill over the edged and fall to the tile floor, but it never did. After Alyssa left the room to take a shower Minerva set the glass on the table and got up too. It hit her as she saw the shower, Bryce and Amelia leaning on the back of the shower, he was kissing her neck and his hand was on the small of her back holding her close.

This was too much; Minerva fell to the ground and started to sob. The tears were hot and salty as some rolled over her lips and fell to the floor. She sat there until Alyssa came back down and found her on the floor crying. "Oh Min," She bent down to the floor and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry honey." Alyssa began to rock Minerva back and forth trying to calm her. It seemed to work, a few minutes later Minerva was quiet. After a long time of just sitting, Minerva got up.

"What time is it?"

"A little after two. Why?"

"We have to go. I have to get to the house before Bryce gets home so I can get some of my stuff." Minerva got up quickly, "Are you going to come with me?"

"I can if you want me to? Are you planning on just disapparating, or flewing?"

"Disapparating."

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Minerva and Alyssa got to the house and saw that there were people inside. Minerva looked over at Alyssa, "He must have canceled his Ministry work?" Minerva stood for a second just looked at the front door.

"I guess I have to face everyone now. But I don't know what he has said to them already." They walked to the door and Minerva opened the door. "What's going on?" Bryce was sitting at the table with a group of Ministry people sitting around him.

"Oh, Min, you remember James and John don't you?" He pointed to two young men sitting on the left of him, "and Meredith, James's wife," he pointed to a brown haired women. "We are just talking about the vacation planes for next week."

"Oh, yes I remember. But I thought that you had a Ministry meeting today until three."

"It got canceled. I wanted to be here when you arrived home. I figured that it would be sometime before three. So here we are." He smiled at her. Minerva looked a little confused but realized that he was just acting as if nothing had happened.

"Well, you were correct. Can I talk to you in private?" Minerva walked down the hall way and into their bed room. It wasn't the place where she wanted to have this conversation, but it was going to have to do. She turned to him and glared, "Why are you still planning the vacation?"

"Min, they can't know what happened. It will ruin my reputation, and I will be kicked out of my position."

"I understand that. But you can not go on planning a trip that I will NOT be going on. You will have to think of a way to tell them, and the rest of the wizarding world that we are splitting. Tell them that we had too many differences and it just didn't work or something. That way neither of us looks bad." This was stressful. The last thing she wanted to do was make him look better then he was. But she knew that it had to be done. He was a good leader; it was just his marriage skills that he had to work on.

"Can we just pretend to be a happy couple for a little longer? I have a lot of big events coming up that you are invited to."

"No. No you can not ask favors of me. You cheated on me; I am not going to make this easier on you. This is not that way I wanted it; this is just how it is. So stop planning the trip, or you could always invite Amelia. I'm sure she would be more then happy to take my place in this whole event."

"Minerva, I still love you."

"You have a funny way of showing it." She glared at him and walked towards the door. When she got there she looked back at him, "fix this, and tell everyone that we are no longer together. I don't care how you have to do it, just do it." With that she opened the door, and walked out.

------------------------------------

Alyssa was waiting for Minerva out on the front porch. When she saw that Minerva was walking back with nothing in her hands she gave her a questioning look. "I thought that you wanted to grab a few things?"

"Never mind the few things, let's just go." They walked down the front lawn and disapparated.

When they got back to Alyssa's house and sat down Alyssa didn't waste any time in asking what happened.

"He just said that we should pretend that we were still together. I told him no and to tell everyone that we are split up, and I told him to make up a reason."

"You are in a completely new mood. This morning you were crying on the bath room floor, and now you are acting care free."

"I know. It was the adrenaline, I felt like I had to act strong and like I didn't care. But to tell you the truth, I have kind of been thinking this was going to happen, I just wasn't expecting to find out like that." She sat down, "That took a lot out of me. Confronting him so soon, and not breaking down." She stared off into space.

"How long have you been expecting this?"

"About three months after he stopped touching me. Just the little things that he used to do: holding doors open, touching the small of my back, kissing my forehead in the morning. Just the little things that told me he loved and cared for me." Minerva sat there thinking about all the things she just listed off and it made her fall back into depression. Even if she could fake a strong face in front of him, that didn't change that she missed the way he used to be. She reached for the glass of gin again, and was right where she left off. Mesmerized by her thoughts and feelings, and hoping that one day she would be able to put this all behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Rumors**

"What about here?" Alyssa pointed to a Pub that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

With a look of disgust Minerva replied, "No, defiantly not, it's to dirty looking." Alyssa looked slightly amused by her reply and kept walking. It had been two weeks since Minerva had last spoken or seen Bryce in person, and he still hadn't made any real comments to the tabloids about Minerva and his situation.

They walked past two older witches who looked like twins. Both had graying hair and walked a little hunch backed. They looked at Minerva and started to whisper.

"I heard that she kept getting drunk and mad about him working so much. And one day he got home and she snapped at him and left."

"Oh really, someone at the pub down the street told me that she was working at one of those places where the girls are half naked and dance with poles, and when he found out he kicked her out." The two kept walking and gossiping about the different rumors going around for why Minerva hadn't been at any of the latest events. There had been plenty since they had split up, and tabloids had been to all of the events asking Bryce where she was.

His response was always the same. "It's still a soft subject for me." Every time he would get the sympathy of everyone around him, and Minerva was left with the blame.

"It's time you finally went and talked to him about telling people the truth, or at least telling them that you two are for sure over. This is getting ridiculous! I am going to yell at the next whispering person we see! It wasn't your fault he was caught cheating! It wasn't your fault he was dumb enough to-"

"Alyssa, you are making a scene. Stop shouting, I will talk to him. I have been thinking about talking to him actually." Alyssa looked hopefully at her.

"Really!? That is great! Maybe you can make an appearance and talk to the tabloids yourself. Then you can tell them all what a sleazy slime ball he is. That will teach him a lesson." Alyssa face was lit up with the thoughts of wrecking his career. "I can think of a million ways for you to phrase it and make him look like a complete imbecile. Not that it would be hard or anything, but if you want any ideas, you know where to find me."

Minerva started to laugh. "Thanks Alyssa, but I think I can handle this one."

"Are you sure? I have to say I have a lot of ideas."

"Yeah, I'm one-hundred percent sure. Thanks though." The two continued to walk down the ally way looking for places that had a "Now hiring" sign in their window.

"What about here?" Alyssa pointed to 'The Three Broomsticks.' Minerva eyed it and thought.

"Well, it does look rather nice, not dirty, not stuck up. You know, I think It might work." Minerva went to walk in when Alyssa stopped her.

"Min, do you really think that you should be walking in there looking like, well looking like Minerva Coiseam Keir? It probably wouldn't look very good. Everyone wants to know what is going on with you two; it will be endless questions… So maybe-"

"I get it, be someone else. Change my appearance so no one knows. Mhmmm…" Minerva was pacing back and forth. "That might work. I wouldn't have to worry about people and what they think of me. I like it." Alyssa and Minerva looked at each other. "How would I look as a red head, wavy hair, maybe curly? Green eyes… Let's think up a person for me."

"Min, you have Green eyes. But I do like the red hair idea." They started to walk down an ally way for a little coverage so people wouldn't see Minerva change into a completely different person.

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The door to The Three Broomsticks opened; two women who looked to be in their late twenty's or early thirty's walked in. The one on the left was tall and had long legs. Her hair was a deep red and her eyes were emerald green, and had a warm welcoming look to them.

The woman on the right was shorter, and had black hair, her eyes were dark brown, and cold looking. The two walked up to the bar and asked "Who can we talk to about getting a job?"

"That would be me dears." A blonde haired woman came from the back room and introduced herself. "My name is Madam Rosmerta. I am the owner, waitress, and bar tender here. What about you two?"

Minerva and Alyssa looked at each other. They hadn't thought this all the way through. What were their names? What job were they looking for?

"Um, well my name is, Greta. And this is, this is Georgia." Minerva, the red hair, was talking and pointing to Alyssa who was now a brunette. "I am looking to be waitress, and Georgia is looking to be bar tender."

"If you wanted to waitress that is fine, but in order for you to bar tend you have to get a particular license. Have either of you worked at a bar before?" Minerva and Alyssa, who were now known as Greta and Georgia, shook their heads. "Ok, well then we will have to run through everything some time. When would you like to start working here?"

"As soon as possible." Greta said with enthusiasm.

"Alright, how about you two ladies come back tomorrow and we run through everything. What we have, what we don't have, just the basics. So, does tomorrow work for you?"

"Tomorrow sounds perfect. We'll see you then." Greta pulled on Georgia's arm as they walked out. "This is so great. We have jobs, and no one knows who we really are in there. I can be a normal person and do what I want when I am Georgia." Alyssa gave her a weird look.

"Um, Min. I'm Georgia, you are Greta."

Minerva looked at to her left. "Really? I thought I was Georgia. This is going to take some getting use to. But at least I won't get all the nasty looks from people."

"You know, you could get rid of those nasty looks if you just talked to him, and made him tell everyone the truth!"

"I know. I'm actually going over there tomorrow to talk to him, after we go to work that is."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

The door to the Three Broom Sticks closed as Greta and Georgia walked out. Greta turned her head to look at Georgia who started to speak, "Now you're going to talk to Bryce right?" Greta's face looked unsure. "Oh come on. All you have to do is go over there, and tell him to tell everyone that you are separated. That isn't that hard."

"It sounds easier than it is. I don't know how to just say it. Do I just walk into the room, and say what I have to say and then leave? Should I sit there and let him try and talk his way out of it? If I do that, I might end up believing him and just let him do what he is doing." Georgia let Greta go on her rant while she changed back into Alyssa again. Minerva subconsciously did the same. When she had finally stopped talking for a few minutes Alyssa started to talk.

"So you are going now then. Right?" 

Minerva scratched her head, "How do I look?"

"You look very 'I am dead sexy and you cheated on me so now your sorry ass can pay the price.'"

Minerva started to nod her head, "Good. That's what I was going for." Minerva looked in the mirror again, then turned to Alyssa, "Wish me luck."

"Luck!" Minerva turned on her heels, and with a pop she was gone. 

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"Minerva, look at this from a political view. If I announce that we aren't together anymore they will ask why. Then I will have to think something up." Bryce was sitting on a kitchen stool look at Minerva who was standing on the other side of the counter.

"Or, I'm just stabbing at possible things to say, you could tell them the truth." At Minerva's words Bryce's face looked stunned. 

"Minerva, that is unreasonable. I could be kicked out of office." Bryce got up and started to walk over to Minerva.

"Oh, really?" Minerva was looking at him with disgust. They had been at this for fifteen minutes. It hadn't been that long, but to Minerva it felt like eternity. It was hard for her to face Bryce already, but to top it off he was calling her unreasonable, which made her temper rise past the normal annoyance she had started to feel towards him. "I am being unreasonable? I AM BEING UNREASONABLE?! YOU CHEATED ON ME, AND NOW YOU WANT TO TELL EVERYONE EVERYTHING IS FINE! HOW AM I BEING UNREASONABLE?!"

"Min… honey… darling… please." Bryce was making a motion for her to settle down, but evidently it wasn't working.

"DON'T MIN ME! AND CERTAINLY DON'T HONEY OR DARLING ME!" Minerva was shouting. Never, in her life had she been this mad. It was outrageous.

"Ok, OK!" Bryce had backed into a corner out of fear. He could tell that this was making Minerva angrier by the second. "I will tell everyone that we are split up because of our… our…"

Minerva chimed in sassily, "different needs?"

Bryce stated to shake his head. "No, I will say that over the years we have grown apart, and have recently decided to separate." He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Minerva. "How does that sound?"

Minerva nodded a little, "It's not the whole truth, and nevertheless it's true so it will work." Minerva posed for a moment then said, " Should I gather my things now or later?"

"Whatever works better for you. I couldn't care less if you came back here or not."

Minerva glared at him, "You know what Bryce, it's that kind of carelessness that pisses me off. You make is sound like you want nothing to do with me. Like if you never saw me again it would be too soon."

"Frankly, it would be."

"What the hell? We were married for seven years. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Honestly, it means seven years of my life spent with someone I knew could never make me truly happy."

Minerva gazed at him with a hurt expression on her face. When she started to speak her voice was soft and hurt. "Well, I'm sorry that time with me is so unpleasant." Tears started to build a barrier over her eyes and were making it hard to see. Minerva turned around to whip some of the stray tears that started to leak out. "I will gather my things some time when you are not home." Without another word, she disappeared with a pop.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Minerva apparated to a cliff that over looked the ocean. Tears were staining her pale cheeks as she stood on the edge of the cliff looking down at the waves crashing against the razor sharp rocks below. She closed her eyes as the ocean air blew through her hair. Every moment of happiness she had ever felt seemed to drift away with the tide.

_This is too much, too much for me to handle. Maybe if I just jump, just get if over with now… but that's not going to solve anything. I won't be here to deal with anything, but everyone else will have to deal with things. That would be a selfish move. _

_Take my pain away, but give everyone else more pain. A moment's pain and it will be over with. The only people who would be left to live without me would be Alyssa, and my family. Mom, dad, Caitlyn, Kathleen and then there is Kathleen's little girl Rose._

_She isn't old enough to remember me now though. Maybe that is better; if she didn't know me at all rather then have her know a depressed and helpless person that I have become. _

_Maybe it wouldn't be as selfish as I thought. Alyssa wouldn't have to baby sit me anymore. Mom wouldn't have to keep checking up on me. They would all get over it sooner or later. _

"Just do it." Minerva's eyes were still shut tight as she tried to convince herself to just off the edge and fall to her death.

She would hear the waves urging her to jump as they crashed against the cliffs bottom more fiercely. "He never loved you. You were a fool to play that stupid game."

She was no longer thinking to herself, now she was talking to herself as if she was another person. Another person convincing her that death was the only solution.

"The pain will be gone in a second. All you have to do is JUMP!" With her last words she leaped off of the cliff and was plunging downward. 

The wind was hitting her face as she became colder can colder. She opened her eyes right before she hit the rocks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Minerva woke as cold water splashed onto her face. She opened her eyes to see Alyssa standing over her with a glass of water in her hands and noticed she had wet fingers. "Min, get up. We are going to be late for work." Minerva sat up and looked around the room. She was lying on the couch with sweat dripping down her face.

Alyssa walked out of the room and into the kitchen. "It was only a dream" Minerva whispered in relief. She looked at the table; there was a less then half of a bottle of gin sitting on it. Minerva held her hand up by her mouth and breathed out. She could still smell the gin on her breath. Part of last night started to come back to her.

She had come back here right after she talked with Bryce and went strait to bed. Later she had woken up and taken a shower, then came back to the couch and drank half the bottle of gin. Minerva put her hand on her forehead; the hangover was starting to hit her.

Alyssa came walking back into the room with two mugs in her hands. "What was only a dream?" Alyssa handed one mug to Minerva as she sat down.

"Oh. Nothing, I just had a bad dream." Minerva closed her eyes and smelled the coffee. Her eyes were sensitive and her head was throbbing.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about Bryce anymore? You didn't say much last night." Alyssa looked worriedly at Minerva.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Minerva brought the mug up to her lips and sipped the hot liquid. "There isn't really that much to tell. He is going to tell everyone that we aren't together anymore because we grew apart. That's all that happened."

Alyssa looked at Minerva with disbelief, "Alright, I will just leave it be. But when you want to talk to me about it, I'll be here."

"Alright. There's nothing to talk about, but thank you. I'm going to take a shower before work." Minerva stood up and walked into the bathroom leaving Alyssa to drink her mug of coffee alone.

Alyssa sat on the sofa and was staring into the fire place when she realized that someone was staring back at her. She knelt down by the fire place to get a closer look at who it was. "Athena? Is that you?"

"Hi! I have been sitting here waiting for Minerva go get up and do something. I have been meaning to talk to you about her."

"What about her?"

"Well Bryce of course. I assume she has been staying with you. What is gong on with them? The news papers say that they aren't together anymore." Alyssa looked unsure for a moment.

"Athena, I don't know if I am the one that should tell you this. It's really none of my business."

"Alyssa, you know how Minerva can be. She has some kind of wall up. She doesn't let anyone in."

"I know but-"

"Alyssa, someone has to be there for her. What happened with them?"

"They grew apart. That's all she told me."

"That is bull! She doesn't say much but I know she told you more then that. Come on. What did he do? Or did she do someone?"

Alyssa covered her face with her hands. Athena always found out what she wanted to know, it was just a matter of time. At the moment it didn't seem wise to make her go to Minerva for the information. Alyssa took her hands away from her face. "Ok, fine. Minerva walked in on him cheating on her." Athena's reaction was hard to make out through the ashes and flames. "But don't tell her I told you. This isn't something she wants to talk about."

"THAT SON OF A-"

"Athena, NO! Do not start that! No." Alyssa was trying to calm Athena down.

"He thinks he is above her! Who does he think he is! He is just a regular person!"

"Oh Merlin."

The door to the bath room opened and Minerva walked out. "Who are you yelling at?"

Alyssa tried to cover up the fire place with her body, but it was helpless. Athena was still yelling at the top of her lungs. "OH HE WILL PAY FOR HURTING HER!"

"Dammit Alyssa, you told her." Alyssa put her hands over her face again.

"I'm sorry Minerva." She began to shake her head back and forth. "I knew that I shouldn't, but you know your mother."

"Yes, yes I know. She would have found out sooner or later." Minerva walked over and knelt down by the fire place. "Mom… Mom… Mother!"

Athena looked at Minerva with surprise. "Oh. Well hi there Min. How are you doing?"

"Very well actually. I was just getting ready for work as a matter of fact."

"Work? You don't have a job."

"Actually I do. I got one the other day. And no I will not tell you where I work. I don't want you coming and seeing me there." Athena looked a little insulted.

"I wouldn't come and visit you. Maybe once, but that would be all. Besides, I have to see you some time. You can't just hide away and expect me to be ok with that. I miss you. We used to talk all the time."

"Yes, I know. But right now, I just need some time alone. And right now, I need to get ready for work. And so do you Alyssa. So let's just leave my dear old mother here while we get dressed." Minerva stood up and dragged Alyssa along with her. "Goodbye mother."

"Bye Athena!"

"You know Minerva, sooner or later you are going to have to deal with your emotions! You can't just keep pushing them off to the side!" Athena was trying her hardest to keep them there and talking to her, but gave up as the door to the other room closed.


End file.
